This Is A Beautiful Start To A Lifelong Love Letter
by leiandcharles
Summary: After the defeat of the latest villain to come storming through Storybrooke, Emma, Killian and Henry decide to take advantage of a quiet day and go sailing. Takes place a few months after returning from the Underworld.


Disclaimer: unfortunately do not own these guys, just borrowing them. Title comes from the song ' I choose you' by Sara Bareilles

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"Now just turn two knots starboard," he shouted to be heard over the crashing of the waves. His hand was splayed across her stomach, the side of his hook gently tapping against her thigh with each wave the ship cut through. She could feel the heat of his body pressed to her back through their many layers of clothing and his head pressed against hers as he held her close to him. She was still unused to the sway of the boat and didn't feel steady enough on her own, or at least, that's what she told him. She turned the wheel with ease, not even having to think about which way was starboard and which way was port side, it came as natural to her as right and left did in a car.

"That's it, Darling. Just like that." He whispered into her ear and pulled her even closer in a way that was just bordering on inappropriate with a child sitting just 20 feet away. Even though Henry wasn't much of a child anymore. He had grown so much in the past few years, had seen and experienced far more than anyone even twice his age ever should. He had a wisdom and maturity about him now that disclosed his need to grow up quickly and made him seem much older than his 13 years at times, but still had the excitement and innocence of youth that made her immensely proud to call him her son.

Killian's lips tugged at her ear teasingly as he loosened his hold on her and took a half step back so there was a small amount of space between them.

"Now what?" she asked as she relaxed her grip on the large wheel and turned back from glaring at him for the teasing to watching Henry looking over the railing into the water below from where he sat at the bow of the ship, his new fishing pole in hand waiting to be used.

"We remain on this heading. There's a small outlet just ahead that is perfect for fishing and is secluded enough that it should be unoccupied by other vessels. Perhaps we will even be able to catch some dinner." He placed a kiss on her temple and ran his hand along her side and across her back as he turned away and headed to where Henry was. She watched as he walked up to her son, placed his hand on his shoulder and bent down to talk to him. She couldn't hear what they were saying but watched anyways, delighted with how close her son and Killian had become. It was important to her that the two men closest to her had a strong relationship of their own. She knew Killian loved Henry as if he were his own flesh and blood and knew that Henry had a similar love and respect for Killian. They had all been through so much together and after dealing with the darkness and the underworld and all the challenges that came with, the three of them had grown closer and stronger than ever. She knew there wasn't anything that could tear her family apart.

She was watching them when Henry jumped up suddenly, an excited grin on his face, and said something to Killian, who in turn said something and gestured to Emma before making his way back across the ship to her. He reached her just as Henry's excited laugh and a shout of "Mom! Come here, you have to see this!" rang out.

"Go ahead, Swan. I'll take the helm." Killian said as he took the wheel from her and nodded towards the front of the ship where Henry was practically jumping up and down in his excitement. She couldn't help the huge smile or light laughter that escaped her as she made her way quickly down the deck while watching how happy and carefree her son was. It felt so good to see him like this that she felt overcome with joy before she even knew what his reason for excitement was.

It didn't take long for her to find out. As soon as she reached the railing she could see the majestic creatures racing and jumping through the water right alongside the ship. Dolphins; at least 20 of them, racing right beside them and there were even some in front of the ship. They were fast, graceful and beautiful, cutting through the waves, leaping into the air and disappearing back into the depths of the ocean before returning again.

It was a stunning sight.

She matched Henry's excited grin with one of her own. There was something truly magical (in a completely _non-magical_ sense) about them. They made her feel like a child on Christmas morning, and for someone who had never really felt the magic of Christmas morning as a child that was a pretty big feat. Watching them reminded her of being carefree, of enjoying the moment and just having fun. So she laughed along with Henry and slung her arm over his shoulder pulling him close.

The dolphins swam alongside them for a little while more before they veered off and headed toward the horizon. Emma and Henry stood and watched until they couldn't see them anymore in the glare of the sun. She removed her arm from around his shoulders, ruffled his hair affectionately and chuckled at the protests the action received from the teenage boy. Sitting down on one of the crates near them and patting the spot next to her. Henry immediately joined her and the two sat in a comfortable and relaxed silence for a few moments. She was very happy to be able to share such quiet moments with her son. It was rare that they had an entire day to spend at their leisure together, just enjoying each other's company and not worrying about what villain or evil force will be making its way down main street next. It seemed like a lifetime ago when her father first gave her the advice to find and appreciate all the quiet moments. But after everything her family, and her town, had been through since he shared that wisdom she knew he was right. Nothing is guaranteed in life, not a day off from chasing monsters or being able to save people from evil witches and dark ones. Even their happy endings aren't guaranteed. All they can do is live in the here and now and enjoy all the quiet moments they can get. Which is exactly why she, Killian and Henry decided just that morning to take advantage of the latest defeat of an evil Dr. with an affinity for voodoo and hexes to spend the day relaxing on the water.

"Mom?" Henry asked, pulling her from her musings.

"Hmmm?"

"Can we get a puppy?" Emma looked over at him curiously, _where the hell did that come from?_ she wondered

"I don't know, it'll be awfully hard catching one of those out here, I think we'll be better off just sticking with the fish." She joked and smirked at his eye roll and _'_ really mom? _'_ expression

"Moooom, I'm serious. Killian and I have already talked about it, and he's okay with getting one. He says as long as I take care of it it seems like a great idea, and I will take care of it I promise! So please, mom?

"Killian knows about this?"

"Yes, well no, I mean, uh sort of." He stammered in a way completely unlike him. She placed her hand on top of his in a show of support. She could tell this was important to him and wanted to hear why he wanted to make such a change but knew he had to relax and get his thoughts together in order to do so. After he took a breath he met her eyes and continued. "We were walking through the park the other day and a dog came up to us so we played with it for a little while and after we just started talking about it. Like the possibility of it. He told me I had to check with you first because it's a big responsibility. I really will take care of it. I'll feed it and walk it and clean up after it and-"

"Slow down, kid. Let me talk to Killian about it first, okay? Then we'll see. But no promises!" she hastily added when his eyes lit up. Even though she knew she wouldn't be able to say no, and he knew she wouldn't say no she still wanted to talk to Killian. She never had a pet before and wouldn't know the first thing about taking care of a dog. But if he was truly okay with this step then she would be too.

It was at that moment they reached the inlet they would be fishing in so Henry jumped up to help lower the anchor with Emma staying where she was, figuring it would be better to just keep out of the way. She had gotten pretty good at a few things on board, like manning the helm and learning some of the terms Killian and Henry threw around, but she wasn't going to pretend to know enough to really help out. She knew she would get there eventually. She loved taking these sailing trips with her boys and she really loved learning as much as she could from Killian. He always got a bright sparkle in his eyes when he was teaching her something new and was always so proud and excited when she mastered a new skill. She looked forward to a lifetime of learning from and growing with that man.

Once the ship was all set they all got out their fishing poles and settled down to wait. She hadn't really been fishing all that often, just the times when Henry asked to go. She usually sat to the side with some work or a book to read so she couldn't claim to know all that much about the sport. She did participate every once in a while so she did know enough to catch her fair share. It wasn't really her thing but Henry loved it. Even in her false memories they went fishing a few times as he grew up, and during the year in New York he sometimes went with their neighbor or her friend from work. He even went fishing a few times with Leroy and the dwarfs while he didn't have his real memories and she was busy trying to take care of Zelena. Even though it was sometimes boring she enjoyed spending time with him doing things that he loved, so she had no problem spending a few hours fishing. Since it was something Killian enjoyed too they were all able to spend this time together, which she really appreciated.

They spent the next few hours relaxing, talking quietly about anything and everything and sharing stories and jokes. Killian told some of his more fantastical (and most likely embellished) tales from his days in Neverland and Henry and Emma shared a few stories about their year in New York City. It takes a while for any of them to catch anything but once they do it's almost like they can't stop. Henry caught the first, then Killian and Henry again before Emma caught her first. After that it became somewhat of a game to see who could catch the most. Emma was surprised with how just many they were catching, there were so many they had even started releasing them back in the water before deciding to call it a day.

Killian took the fish down below to store in the galley until dinner while Emma and Henry cleaned up the fishing gear and got the ship ready to sail again. They raised the anchor just as Killian returned to the deck and just moments later they were making their way home.

Once they got out into the open ocean Killian called Henry to join him. "Why don't you do the honors and lead us home, my boy." He took a step away from the helm and let Henry take his place.

"Can I dock the ship too?" Henry asked with all the enthusiasm you would expect a 13 year old boy to have at the offer to captain a pirate ship.

"Of course you can, Lad." He clapped him on the shoulder and reached his hand out for Emma's and led her over to sit against the bench he had recently built along the railing at the back of the ship as soon as her fingers were twinned with his. They sat down and he moved his arm to wrap it around her shoulder placing a soft kiss to her temple. She sighed and relaxed into his side, laying her head on his shoulder.

They sat there for a while just enjoying the warmth and comfort of each other and the quiet as Henry steered them home. She was thinking about how she would happily spend the rest of her life having days like this. She was ready to embrace that future, the life she had always wanted but was too scared to hope for. It was right in front of her now and all she had to do was take it. So that's what she decided to do. She had been waiting for Killian to ask her, she knew he wanted to. She could tell he was thinking about. She caught him staring at her left hand often and he would absent-mindedly play with his brother's ring when he did so, the ring she had put back around his neck almost as soon as she found him again in the Underworld pleading with him tearfully to "please, never take this off again" and she had noticed how he always stared at the wedding gown in the window of 'Modern Fashion' on Main Street whenever they walked by.

Not that he knew she was onto him. She had wanted to let him work up to it on his own. But she was tired of waiting. They had been living together ever since she brought him back so it didn't seem like such a big step anymore. She wanted to marry him, she was ready to marry him.

She lifted her head off his shoulder and turned to meet his eyes, smiled softly and took a deep breath.

"Will you marry me?"

He froze for a long moment then his eyes widened and his mouth opened like he couldn't believe what he had just heard. She vaguely noticed Henry slowly turning to look over his shoulder at them. "I… uh…" He blinked a few times and shook his head slightly as if to clear it then seemed to finally come back to himself. "Bloody hell. I believe I was going to be the one to ask that, love"

"Well I was waiting for you to ask but you were taking too long."

"Couldn't even wait one more hour then? I suppose I should have known things wouldn't go as planned." He mumbled while removing his arm from her shoulders and, glancing over to Henry, put his hand in his pocket.

"What are you… what do you mean-" he pulled out a small velvet box "-planned?" she finished on a shocked whisper as her own eyes widened.

He grabbed her hand with his hook, turning it so her palm was facing up and gently placed the small box there. He reached up with his now free hand, keeping his face down and scratched behind his ear in his signature nervous tell before raising his eyes slowly to hers and taking her free hand in his.

"I had been trying to ask for quite a while now but I didn't exactly want to propose while running after our latest villain. When you suggested we go sailing today I saw my chance. We were going to stop to have dinner and watch the sunset and as the stars came out I would tell you how you had been my guiding star ever since I've met you. Leading me to the right path, to a home and to a family, to a life I'd always wanted but never dared hope for. I had a whole speech planned out." He grinned then, "If I didn't know any better I'd say you knew and decided you wanted to be the one to ask."

She wiped the tears his little speech had brought to her eyes and chuckled. "I was waiting! I was going to let you ask! I know you wanted to, but I just… I didn't want to wait anymore. I want to marry you. I want our life together to really begin, and I know, _I know_ it already has, that we already live together and it's just a piece of paper, a formality, but I want it. I want all of it. With you."

He kissed her, softly and sweetly, then rested his forehead against hers for a moment, pulled away slightly and looked into her eyes, "So what do you say, Swan? Will you marry this old pirate?"

"Absolutely." She smiled and kissed him again, bringing her hand up to the back of his neck to hold him to her as she deepened the kiss.

They broke apart a moment later to the sound of Henry clapping. She looked over at him a smiled at the big grin he had on his face. He looked absolutely thrilled.

"You knew about this didn't you?"

"Who do you think helped pick out the ring?" They all chuckled.

Killian tugged on her hand to get her attention "Speaking of ring, you have yet to even look at it, love." He opened the box and took the ring out, lifting her left hand with his hook he slid it onto her finger as he spoke, "I wish I still had my mother's ring, but I lost it many years ago and since you refuse to wear my brothers, I thought a ring chosen special by Henry and myself would be the next best thing. You can of course pick out something else if you would prefer, I had-" she cut of his rambling with another chaste kiss.

"It's perfect, really. I love it." She kissed him again softly. "I love you." She smiled, turned and held her hand out to Henry so he would join them. He tied off the helm and came over, hugging Emma and sitting down next to her. "I love you too, Henry, thank you both." She kissed the top of his head and pulled him close. "You both have made me happier than I ever imagined possible. I love you."

"Love you too, mom" Henry spoke at the same time Killian said "I love you too, Emma."

Killian took her hand in his once more and kissed her knuckles before tangling his fingers with hers. He looked back up at her and she noticed the tears in his eyes that matched her own. Suddenly she didn't care about the great big happy endings everyone was always going on about. This, what she had right now, was pretty damn perfect already.


End file.
